Religion and sports often go hand in hand, but if victorious in Friday’s Bellator 104 headliner, don’t expect Brent Weedman to look above for thanks.

Unlike the legions of fighters who are quick to thank higher powers in their post-fight speeches, Weedman (22-8-1 MMA, 8-3 BMMA) has no plans to do so if he defeats Rick Hawn (16-2 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) in their Spike TV-televised Season 9 welterweight tournament semifinal at U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

It’s not that Weedman is anti-religion. He just labels himself “nonreligious.” He believes the world’s major religions have some positive messages. But inevitably, the 29-year-old eventually gets to the same disappointing parts that muddle those messages.

“Here’s where I lose step with my religious friends: They say I believe this and that, and I say fine, but then they say, ‘If you don’t believe this, then you’re wrong,’ and there’s some sort of retribution or punitive end for you,” he said. “All religions have some positive things to add, but they get drowned out in the argument. Maybe it’s a Western culture thing where we’re so focused on being right, and winning – winning the argument, winning the battle. The whole ‘I’m right, you’re wrong’ kind of feel.”

Weedman doesn’t like easy answers. In fact, he actively searches out the tough questions and their complicated answers. He’s no genius, he said, but he has a passion for knowledge.

“I feel like a lot of people in my generation need things to be loud and fast and shiny and noisy to be interested – to keep a hold of their senses. They’re not really interested in things like science, math and physics. I don’t call myself intelligent because I know intelligent people, and I’m not on the level. But I just love to learn.”

One of Weedman’s favorite authors is the late Carl Sagan, a man who helped popularize science and astronomy, and whose nonfiction and fiction works helped countless science enthusiasts better understand the world. The more Weedman read, the smaller and less significant he felt in the universe. But for the new father, it actually gave him a rush.

“I was reading a collection of lectures by Carl Sagan where he described the physics behind the formation of solar systems,” he said. “That was a really big watershed moment for my life because I had not really thought about it. That gave me that same overwhelming sense of insignificance because, again, a lot of people my age have this sense of entitlement. To find out that you’re not only not the center of the universe but that you’re just a speck of dust, I find it kind of calming. It’s sort of an exciting thing for me.”

Weedman, a presenter at the The Amaz!ng Meeting 2013 skepticism conference, said that rather than feeling more distant, that knowledge actually makes him feel closer to the people around him, including his son. He said Sagan’s famous work of fiction really put it into perspective.

“There’s a quote from the book ‘Contact’ that I love but will probably butcher,” he said. “The author talks about humans receiving a transmission from aliens, and the message is something along the lines of, ‘In this vast and largely empty universe, the only thing we’ve found to give us any warmth and meaning is each other.’ When you sort of understand that – I don’t know how to say it without sounding like an a–hole – but you don’t matter and your place in life and the universe is largely insignificant, so the warmth you get from your friends and family is all that matters.

“I’m not a fighter, I’m a father. I know it’s cliche, but that’s all that really matters. The mark I make on the world will be as a father.”

Still, he wants his work his work as an MMA competitor to have a lasting legacy, as well. He’s currently in his fifth Bellator tournament. His best finish came in 2012, when he posted a runner-up finish to none other than Hawn.

So Friday’s fight not only would allow him to reach a tourney final for the second time, it’d give him a chance to avenge the only loss he’s experienced in his past five fights. He admits that their first meeting was close but that Hawn probably earned and deserved the victory. This time around, though, he wants his revenge.

“I don’t want to just win; I want to impress,” he said. “I want to blow people’s hair back. I’m here to impress people and entertain.”

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